By Acacia Betancourt | GlobalGiving
This November will mark four years since Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013.
It tore through the country with 200 mile-per-hour winds and 30-foot tidal waves, killing 10,000 people and causing significant damage to everything in its path. One of the most intense tropical cyclones on record, Haiyan destroyed countless homes and commercial buildings, leaving Filipino residents without shelter, fuel, food, or clean water.
Fortunately, our nonprofit partners on the ground were able to quickly respond to needs of their local communities, and support them throughout the long recovery process.
After the typhoon subsided, hospitals and birthing centers were destroyed, leaving pregnant women and infants without maternity services. Local midwives rebuilt these facilities with the support of Mercy in Action. Emergency care was given to these mothers and their children, and the centers were soon able to resume their services—including pre and post natal care, premature labor prevention, drug and vitamin distribution, delivery, exams, and newborn checkups—all of which are completely free to the patients through your support.
More than 5,000 local families received food, water, hygiene products, medication, school supplies and other long-term recovery resources after their villages were demolished. Through four years of consistent hard work and teamwork, Asia America Initiative has helped rebuild local houses, churches, and schools. New gardens were constructed on school grounds, which fed malnourished schoolchildren nutritious food that was cooked on-site daily by mothers and grandmothers who eat with the children.
Safe sanitation, one of the most urgent and immediate needs after the storm, was largely overlooked by more urgent needs like food and shelter. Local community members, along with the Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development Foundation built dozens of low-cost, durable toilets for residents in rural towns. A 10,000-liter capacity rainwater harvester was also constructed, which gave 175 residents clean water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and gardening.
Members of the GlobalGiving team visited each of these projects in person and can attest to the impact your donations have made.
Over the past four years, you’ve given more than $1.6 million to support these relief efforts along with almost 10,000 donors from all over the world. Your donations have made an incredible impact on the lives of Filipino typhoon survivors, and have helped them rebuild their self-sufficiency. On behalf of our nonprofit partners, thank you so much for your generous support of their amazing work on the ground in the Philippines.
The work in the Philippines isn’t done yet. As one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world, the Philippines typically endures over 20 tropical storms and typhoons each year. The recovery and rebuilding in the Philippines is far from complete, and local organizations still need continued support.
We will be closing this particular fund, but if you would like to continue giving to support local organizations in the Philippines, these organizations are also providing resources and services to revitalize their communities.
By Michael Smeltzer | Program Fellow, GlobalGiving
By Ashlee Cox | Program Fellow
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When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we've been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
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